Evil vs Evil
by Crystal Dragon
Summary: Deep in the forest you can hear magical voices wandering. Some are evil. Others are... also evil.
1. Evil vs Evil: Chapter One

Evil vs Evil: Chapter One

Evil vs Evil: Chapter One

She sat in the throne, slowly drinking red wine, and enjoying every moment of it. She narrowed her eyes and smirked at nothing. She cracked Her whip and called out to somebody.   
"Kenji!" she said, and at that moment, a young man with dark black hair appeared.   
When the light hit, it turned a shade of green. His clothes were a silky light blue and draped over him like a cloak.   
"Yes," he answered with his head down low.   
"Kenji..." she repeated and stood up.   
She threw the wine glass on the floor and it shattered instantly, the little shards sparkling. She walked into the light, showing Her short hair and long flowing powder blue dress. Her face was not pretty, but it held a subtle beauty. Her webbed ears flattened out, almost in worry. She looked down at Kenji, who was crouched before her. She lifted up his face, and he looked back into the aqua eyes. They looked so kind, but they held a hidden hatred and almost worried him.   
"You're so polite... so loyal," She said softly. "When you enter, stand and look. Otherwise, I'll feel too bad about myself."   
He seemed most eager to look down, as if he just couldn't stare into his employer's eyes, but he was afraid of punishment if he didn't.   
"Yes, ma'am," he answered.   
"You can call me by my name," She said and helped him up. She tilted Her head, and moved Her hand to his arm.   
"Yes, m... Kasumi," he said.   
She smiled and walked back to her throne. "Now, then, Kenji," she said. "I have a task for you."   
"What is it?"   
"I want you to destroy this woman," she ordered, and held her right hand out. It was bare unlike her other gloved hand. A blue light in the shape of a water drop fell to her hand, and sprayed into an image of a young woman with long blonde hair with a flower in it.   
"But, Kasumi, isn't that your..." started Kenji.   
"My sister?" she said. "Why.. yes. Yes, it is."   
Kenji looked down for a moment, then nodded. He disappeared with a small flash of light. Kasumi rested her leg over another, and took a second glass and poured it with the red wine. She heard footsteps from the room next door, and a figure walking through. She knew who it was and started to lift her hair back behind her ears. A man, no older than her, walked next to her, holding a togechiiku on a gloved arm. His hair was a light strawberry blonde and his eyes were a deep blue.   
"Hiroshi," said Kasumi, without looking. "You've brought me my togechiiku."   
"Yes," he answered and stood behind her. His clothes were just as white as hers and Kenji's, but they seemed much more neat and straightened.   
"You're so nice," said Kasumi and reached up to kiss him. "Why do all these little things for me?"   
"No reason in particular," he answered. Kasumi stood up and let Togechiiku fly onto her shoulder.   
Kasumi grinned and placed her head on his shoulder. Her teeth showed, and a fang stuck out. "Thank you," she whispered. 

* 

Deep in a cleared forest area, the setting sun shone through the leaves making bright patterns on the grass. A young boy ran into the back door holding a little piece of paper and a spear.   
"I've received word that Kasumi has sent a minion out to kill a water nymph."   
"Really? What's her name?"   
"Sakura. There's no given last name, but we suspect it might be from the Hanada Springs."   
"What did you just say?!"   
Seyou turned around, and her bow and arrows cackled against each other at her waist. She glared at Taichi, who clenched his spear and note in fright. He stuttered for a moment, but couldn't say anything.   
"Answer me, boy! Tell me where the victim is located!"   
"The Hanada Springs?" he repeated.   
"Are you sure?" she asked and grabbed the note away from him, making him step back a little. Her eyes moved back and forth quickly as she read it. "...suspected areas in eastern areas of the Hanada Springs? How could this be true?!"   
"M-may I ask just how this is so surprising?" queried Taichi. His ibui leaned against his leg to comfort him.   
"Sakura, Ayame, and Botan..." mumbled Seyou.   
"Who?"   
"Kasumi's sisters. Why would Kasumi want to kill one of her sisters?"   
"S-sisters? But they're water nymphs. Kasumi is a sprite," corrected Taichi.   
"Don't you know anything!" screamed Seyou and slapped him. She put her arms on her waist. "You have to learn about your enemies before you go out to hunt them! Kasumi was turned into a water sprite and that gave her legs!"   
"How's that possible?"   
"Electric sprites. They're witches and warlocks. They can do that," she said. Seiyou straightened her back for a moment and put her hand on her chin thoughtfully. "Now why would Kasumi want to kill her own sisters?"   
"Sibling rivalry?" said a voice.   
Nanako came out into the open. She tossed her blue hair behind her back and stood next to Taichi, gripping his hand lightly.   
"Rivalry?" repeated Seiyou.   
"What other reason?" she said.   
"Preposterous!" Seiyou held her hands in the air and dropped them to her waist. "Sibling rivalry couldn't lead dea-" she paused. "Or maybe it could?"   
Taichi looked at Nanako, who shrugged back at him and rubbed her thumb against the patch on her arm that read "Yosei Kokoro."   
"Taichi, you have three older brothers. How do _you_ feel about them teasing you?" asked Seiyou, and moved her face up close to his, throwing daggers with her eyes. Nanako grew a little tense and moved closer to Taichi.   
"My brothers don't tease me at all..." he answered. "So I couldn't tell."   
"Damn this!" Seiyou threw her arms and hands along her desk, knocking over a few broken arrows and paper work, which landed on the floor next to Nanako's chikoriita.   
Taichi and Nanako stood silently, staring at Seiyou.   
"Well?" Seiyou glared at them. "Don't just stand there! Go out and look for Sakura!"   
The two stepped back, slowly at first, then quickly ran out of the hut, towards the east. Seiyou sighed and sat in her chair. As the captain of the group... she got the most stress. She wondered if maybe she should have been a teacher instead of an officer.   
"Hard day today?" asked a man. He stepped out from behind Seiyou and put his hands on her shoulders. He had gotten inside so silently, but not through the door. Through the ground. He was clearly an earth sprite.   
"Very," she replied and looked up at him. His brown hair tickled her nose and she suddenly felt so relieved. "Kasumi... she's still continuing the crime wave."   
"Can I help in any way?" he asked.   
"You don't have to do anything, Shigeru," she replied.   
Shigeru reached down at gently kissed her cheek. She could feel his fangs. "Are you sure?"   
"I don't know what you can do."   
"I can fight Kasumi," he declared. "She doesn't seem that tough."   
Seiyou stood up quickly and turned to him. "She's murdered over fifty people!"   
"Has she killed them, or has she sent people out to kill them?" he asked.   
She relaxed and looked to the side, staring at a broom in the corner of the hut. "Well, she usually sends them out, but..."   
"Then I can go out to fight her," Shigeru gripped his sword and revealed it just a little.   
Seiyou hugged him. "I don't want you to get hurt too badly..."   
"I... I'm sure that my sister would be able to take care of that." 

* 

"I saw Shigeru walking around here someplace. I think he was headed towards the little Yosei Kokoro hut," said Nanami. She put her hands on the warm grass.   
"That's near here," said Satoshi. His head was rested in her lap. "Maybe I should go now."   
"I need to get back to camp anyway," she lifted Satoshi off her lap and they got up. Nanami straightened out her dress. She was an earth sprite, but was still so gentle and was allowed as the Yosei Kokoro's nurse. She looked at Satoshi and frowned.   
It was such a beautiful day. Why must their small romantic day be interrupted with...   
"Nn... but.." they heard somebody mumbling from a distance. Satoshi perked up his long, elf-like ears. Nanami looked at him in question.   
"Who was that?" she asked.   
Satoshi was a nymph. One of the electric types... he could hear what humans can't.   
"It sounds like, somebody's struggling... it belongs to a woman. I don't recognize it," Satoshi's pikachu twitched its ears as well and leaned against his leg. "But it's getting louder. I think she's saying-"   
There was a large scream and Nanami turned around to wear it was coming from. In the middle of it, there was a strong crunching sound and the screaming stopped. 

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I had no choice," Kenji lifted his sword. He put it back in its rest, mindless of the blood.   
He walked away from the dead body that lay half in the water, which began to become stained with a dark, brooding red. Sakura's long golden hair dripped with the blood, and it spilt onto the grass, soaking inside. Her ears were wilted and pale, and the scales on her fin started to dry from the sun beating down on them.   
Nanami ran from the pathway through the forest, and into the open where she rushed out to the water nymph. Taichi and Nanako ran after quickly and the three surrounded her. Nanami placed two of her fingers on Sakura and waited a moment.   
"She's dead," she answered.   
"Sakura! Sakura!" a woman yelled out from under water and sprouted up. She shook her head, waving her short pink hair and darted to her sister. "What happened? What did you do to her?!"   
"Somebody came here and killed her," answered Nanako. "I was watching, but..."   
"You were watching?" asked Botan. Tears started forming in her eyes, "You, a Yosei Kokoro member was watching but all you did was stand there and wait until the murderer was gone? How could you?! You could have saved her but you didn't, you heartless bi-"   
Taichi grabbed Botan by the neck and slapped his hand over her mouth. "Stop yelling at her like this! We didn't arrive until after the murderer had killed her so you have no right to blame us for not saving her!"   
Botan struggled and managed to rip Taichi's hand off her mouth. "You could have came sooner!"   
"Stop it, both of you!" said Nanami. "Now's not the time to fight about this sort of thing. We need to find out who did this."   
"It was one of Kasumi's minions, I'm sure," said Nanako. "We heard that one of her targets was Sakura."   
"But isn't she Kasumi's sister?" asked Nanami.   
"We don't know why she'd ever want her own sister killed, but she's not kidding with this order," Taichi looked at Sakura. 

* 

Kenji appeared in front of Kasumi. He cleared his throat. "Sakura has been killed."   
"Good job," she said. "You can expect a reward, but only if you do your next task."   
"Yes, m... Kasumi?"   
"I want you to destroy Botan," she held out her bare hand again, and in the ripple of light was the image of her other sister, Botan.   
"Yes, Kasumi," he answered and nodded. He was about to leave, but looked up at Kasumi. "May I please ask you something?"   
She stroked the smooth ivory skin on Togechiiku's head. "Go ahead."   
"Will you be expecting me to destroy Ayame next?"   
Kasumi laughed a little bit, but then grew serious. "No. I think that Ayame deserves to live. She was really the only sister that... ever appreciated me. Besides, she's been missing for a long time now, I don't want you to bother looking for her."   
Kenji closed his eyes and left. Kasumi could feel the sorrow in him. She knew this would be his last job anyway, and after this she would send out her next employee. 

* 

"She could have sent me to kill them both at the same time," Kenji said as he walked down the pathway. He suddenly wondered how he had gotten in such a mess with a water sprite. He felt that Kasumi wanted him to be her friend. She never asked anybody except Hiroshi to be so casual in front of her. Or maybe she actually liked humans? Kenji shook his head. Maybe it was just him. But what if... it was he who liked nymphs and sprites? No... that couldn't be right.   
He came upon a small river and decided to take a small rest. The moon was high in the air. He looked at the rushing water that sparkled in the dim light, but there was something dark seeping through it. He leaned over slowly, curious of the shadow.   
A woman with dark midnight blue hair emerged and stared at Kenji with just as much curiosity.   
"A water nymph? Wait... Ayame?" he asked.   
She nodded. It was the second oldest sister of Kasumi. But she was said to be missing for over three years, and yet she was only swimming around in this timid little river all this time?   
"Who are you?" she asked.   
He replied in reaction, "My name's Kenji... no wait! No, you shouldn't be here! I shouldn't be here! I can't get aquatinted with anybody, it's against my duty.... Oh no... Umm... you never saw me! Never! Forget me! And my name!" Kenji started to back away from her and dropped the fruit on the bank of the river.   
Ayame put her arms around Kenji's neck playfully, almost dragging him in. "I can't do that. Besides, it's been so long since I've really seen anybody walking around here..."   
She smiled and Kenji could see two fangs sticking out. "Oh my god, you're a water sprite!" He immediately tried to run away. She was going to suck his blood or something, for sure.   
She tilted her head against his neck and he could feel her mouth against his skin. He shut his eyes in hope it would get his mind off the pain. Yet... maybe it was working too much? He could only feel a dampness on his neck, but was it really his blood? Kenji opened one of his eyes, and looked back and forth twice. He looked down at Ayame's back and her left arm was still huddled around him. Was she even digging through his flesh or was it really this painless?   
Ayame moved her head back a little, just so she could see Kenji's eyes. "You look pale," she said, still smiling.   
Kenji looked down at her. Her mouth was... very clean. No, she wasn't sucking his blood. But then... doesn't that mean she was...?   
"Come on, I know you can swim," she said with a giggle and dragged him into the water. 

* 

"Shigeru! Shigeru!" Satoshi ran out, almost flying, to Shigeru.   
"Nn?" he said and looked around. "Satoshi?"   
Satoshi tackled onto Shigeru, laughing and giggling. Shigeru sighed at Satoshi's enthusiasm, but laughed a little himself as Pikachu climbed up onto his face.   
"Satoshi, what are you doing here?" Shigeru asked and he nudged away Satoshi a little.   
"Well, what are you doing here?" he replied. "Where are you going?"   
"I'm doing a favor for the Yosei Kokoro," he answered. God forbid he ever mentions his affairs with Seiyou in front of Satoshi.   
"What would that be?" he queried. He bent his head over Shigeru, and he looked up at his shadowed face.   
"I need to fight Kasumi," he answered and stood up.   
"Kasumi? You mean, _the_ Kasumi? The Kasumi who's been known for her multiple killings?"   
Shigeru nodded. "She can't be that bad. She's probably just a girl trying to act big."   
"I'll go with you," declared Satoshi.   
Shigeru sank under the ground, leaving only a patch of dirt wear the grass was. He sprouted back up behind Satoshi and continued walking. Sometimes Satoshi hated how he could do that.   
"You? Fight? I don't think so," said Shigeru.   
Satoshi rushed to him, grabbing onto his arm. "Oh, come on, Shigeru! She's a water sprite, right?"   
"Right."   
"And you're earth! Earth sprites are weak against water. But I'm an electric nymph," he said and lifted his right hand, cackling with sparks of electricity jumping from his fingertips. "You know you need me or you won't stand a chance! Even if she were a nymph, you'd get killed by a spray of water unless you just want to use plant and leaf attacks all the time."   
Shigeru started heating up at Satoshi's reducing of his self esteem. "Fine if you must join, then do so," he said.   
Satoshi smiled and walked enthusiastically along with Shigeru and his Pikachu at his side just as hyperactive.   
"So I heard from your sister that Kasumi's minion killed a water nymph named Sakura," said Satoshi, striking up a conversation. "And that she's Kasumi's sister even though one's a nymph and the other's a sprite."   
"Kasumi was changed into a sprite during her teen years," said Shigeru. "An electric sprite was doing an experiment and Kasumi was caught in it."   
"Who's the electric sprite?" asked Satoshi.   
"His name is Hiroshi. He had disappeared after the experiment," Shigeru looked down at Satoshi, who had his look of curiosity masked over him. "She probably killed him. But people say she's so happy with legs, nobody's really sure where Hiroshi disappeared off to." 

* 

The sun was beginning to rise. Nanako stood quietly by a corner in the window of a small castle. Kasumi's castle. But she knew it must have been made by the magic of an electric sprite. It was much too perfected to be built by hand. She peered in through the glass and could see Kasumi speaking to somebody and tried hard to listen in.   
"Nanako?" asked a familiar voice. She turned around quickly and shushed with her finger over her mouth.   
Taichi was beside her. How did he get there so quickly? Nanako then realized he was a wind nymph. It was a little hard to think when she first met him. She always thought he was a human until he started flying around her.   
"Taichi, what are you doing here? Spying is strictly my job," she hissed.   
"What? You never told me that," he said.   
"It was a secret. Now be quiet," she said. "While you're here... there's an opening on the top of the castle. I'd climb over but those two," she gestured to Kasumi and another man, "would hear me. Fly me up to the top."   
Taichi wasn't sure of how to pick her up. What if she was too heavy, or maybe what if he dropped her? Taichi got behind Nanako and wrapped his arms on her stomach and tried to get her off the wall.   
"Gahck..." she mumbled. His grip was tight. "Don't give me the Heimlich maneuver!"   
"I'm sorry," he whispered and blushed. He loosened his arms a little. He lifted Nanako gently off the wall and levitated up and over to the roof. "Did that hurt?"   
"No, I'm okay," she said.   
Nanako walked over to the square opening on the roof. Now she could see and hear Kasumi better. 

"Takeshi, I trust you will do a fine job in your missions," said Kasumi.   
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.   
"I've seen your past work... so keep it up."   
"Yes, ma'am," he repeated.   
"I'm quite sure Kenji had not completed his last task, so you'll fill in for him," Kasumi held out her hand. The light dropped down and sprinkled into the image of Botan. "I want you to kill this woman."   
"It will be done," Takeshi answered. 

"Did you hear that?" asked Nanako. "She's working a pattern. I'll bet all of her sisters will be dead by tomorrow."   
Taichi nodded. "We should try and keep Botan at the hut with us until further notice." He took out an apricorn that had been turned into a monster ball. He opened it to let out his ibui. Taichi took out a pen and paper and started to write a note onto it, and gave it to Ibui. "Give this to Seiyou, and make sure you don't make any sidetracks on the way."   
"Iuu!" it squealed and crawled down the side of the castle, using the cracks in the stone as a foot holder.   
"Taichi, look at this!" said Nanako, and she pointed down to the opening. "It's Hiroshi, that missing electric sprite!"   
Taichi crawled next to Nanako and peered in, seeing Hiroshi walked in front of Kasumi. 

"You let go of Kenji," said Hiroshi.   
Kasumi nodded. "I know where Ayame is, and I know Kenji has been getting tired of his duties. I decided now was his time to find a new life."   
"You seemed so nice to him. More than the others," said Hiroshi. He rested his hands behind his back.   
"What? Are you jealous?" asked Kasumi. 

"That didn't sound very good," said Taichi.   
"How would Hiroshi be jealous at all?" asked Nanako. "Unless..." 

"As I was saying, he was growing tired," Kasumi stood up. "I wanted to be nice to him on his final days. I did the same with Tooru."   
"I understand."   
"Hiroshi..." she placed her hands on his sides. "You know I love you."   
She reached out and kissed him. 

"So Kasumi didn't kill Hiroshi," said Nanako. "She fell in love with him?"   
"I feel sorry for him," said Taichi.   
"Well, nobody would want somebody like that witch to fall in love with them," commented Nanako.   
"No, I don't mean it that way," he said. "I mean, we want to hunt down Kasumi... but wouldn't his heart be broken if we kill her? He loves her too, and he hasn't done anything bad. Would he really deserve something like that?"   
Nanako looked up at Taichi. He had a lot of empathy for them. But what if he was right? Maybe they were actually the enemies, rather than Kasumi? 

What if everybody was actually evil?

-To be continued

:p Nymphs, Sprites... umm, it's all kind of confusing. Nymphs and Sprites are elf-like people with elemental powers (earth, wind, fire, water, etc). Sorry about all the different characters I put in here... you can check my profile page to get a list of all the English names so you're not as confused. Oh yeah, I'll post the URL that holds the "advanced" version of this fanfiction (with illustrations, different versions/endings, etc) when I finish uploading all the chapters and junk.


	2. Evil vs Evil: Chapter Two

Evil vs Evil: Chapter Two

Evil vs Evil: Chapter Two

"Mou..." groaned Satoshi. Pikachu pulled at his hair a little bit, begging his owner to keep on walking. "I'm so tired."   
"We're right in front of the castle," Shigeru put his left foot on the bridge. "Do you really want to take a rest?"   
"Just for breakfast," he answered. "Please, Shigeru..."   
Shigeru shrugged. "If you insist." 

"I thought you'd be full of energy by the time we got there," said Shigeru.   
Satoshi planted his chopsticks in his mouth. The meat was undercooked, but he was starving. "Well, I didn't think it'd be such a long walk."   
"You're such a cheetah."   
"Nn? What do you mean?"   
"You're all revved up and fast at first, but only takes a little while until you get burned out."   
"Are you trying to say something?"   
"I'm saying you need to try and slow down a little so you can keep on going. Do you get it?"   
"Yeah," Satoshi said and looked to the ground.   
"Good. You'll need to do just that when we battle Kasumi," said Shigeru. He stroked the fur on Ibui.   
"I thought you said she wasn't that tough."   
"Doesn't matter. Anybody can out-run you if you speed up for a short amount of time."   
"I thought maybe speed would be power."   
"In a way, yes, but not without a lot of stamina."   
Satoshi nodded. 

* 

__

The water's so cold... yet I still feel so warm by you... I thought you were just playing around with me?   
Kenji narrowed his eyes a little. Why did he feel so happy around this water sprite? How could a human possibly fall in love with even a nymph? But how could a nymph or sprite fall in love with a human?   
"I think I might be... in love," he said.   
Ayame looked up at him, sitting on the rock below, and smiling. She sat with her hands wrapped around her bare legs. Kenji swam up to the surface and she went after him in fear of his unknown absence.   
Kenji sat at the bank of the river, his clothes soaking wet, and he shook his head, shaking off the water in his hair.   
"Please don't go," Ayame said as she surfaced.   
"I can't breathe underwater. And besides, I have a mission to complete," he replied, unaware of his replacement.   
Ayame blinked slowly, looking down a little. She stepped out of the water and hugged him. "Let me go with you."   
Kenji blushed a little, but pushed her away. "No, you don't want to."   
"Yes I do."   
"No. You shouldn't even like me. You-"   
"Why not? Why can't I love you? What's so wrong? Is it because you're a human? It's that, isn't it..."   
"Listen," he said. "I work for your sister, Kasumi."   
"How do you know she's my sister?"   
He didn't answer, and only continued. "She's ordered me to kill Botan and Sakura."   
"She's what?" Ayame's eyes widened and clasped her hands together above her waist.   
"I had already killed your eldest sister, Sakura, but I still have to kill Botan or punishment will be granted to me," he finished. Perhaps he would get a punishment from Ayame anyway. Maybe this time she really will suck out his blood and shut his eyes once again.   
Yet, he could only hear crying. Kenji opened his eyes when he felt her body against his, hugging him tightly.   
"First I become a sprite... then I run away and get lost... I live alone for almost three years... and now I learn my little sister's gone after Sakura and Botan...." she said shakily, almost like a whisper. Her ears flattened out.   
She gripped onto Kenji's cape harder and buried her face into his chest, crying silently. Kenji slowly let his arms around her. Why must this happen to him now? 

"Do you even care? At all?"   
Kenji looked into the dark eyes of Ayame. They were so innocent, unlike his, which had grown so full of guilt in his life. "Yes. I care about the people I'm sent to kill. But as Kasumi's employee, I know I must, and I can't let her down. I'm sorry to do this to you, Ayame. I don't believe now was the right time for me to meet you."   
They walked down the pathway towards the Hanada Springs. The sun was up at high noon, and high clouds drifted slowly in the air.   
"I don't mean to be harsh when I say this... but I would hate you for this if I didn't love you," commented Ayame.   
"I understand," he replied. "But there are things about you I don't understand."   
"Like what?"   
"You've only known me for a night. What makes you love me?"   
"You seem special to me, somehow."   
"But how? How could I be so special? Am I so different from every other man?"   
"Listen to yourself. You care about my little sister, you care about the people you kill," Ayame walked in front of Kenji, stopping him in his path. "and you care about me. Kenji, this may not seem very impressive to you, but it is to me, and that's why I love you."   
They reached the eastern edge of the Hanada Springs, where they found Nanako and Taichi holding back a figure in white and blue. Botan was backed away against a rock in the middle of one of the lakes, frightened and slightly dazed.   
"Let go, you little brats!" yelled the figure.   
He threw back the Yosei Kokoro members and they hit the ground.   
"Who are you?!" demanded Kenji. He ran up to the man to see his face, but realized he knew him. "Takeshi? What are you doing here?"   
"What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here?" asked Takeshi.   
"I was sent here to kill Botan," replied Kenji.   
"Sorry, Kenji, but I came here to replace you. Don't you know? Kasumi only ordered you to go back so she could fire you easily. I'm on top of this now."   
"What?" Kenji stepped back. Kasumi fired him? Was she so sure that he couldn't accomplish something like this?   
Takeshi could see the fear and surprise in Kenji. "If you must know... I overheard her talking with Hiroshi. She says she sent you to kill Botan so you can just stay with her," he pointed at Ayame. "She felt it was time you left. She said you were 'getting tired in your duties.'" Takeshi turned to Botan. "Now if you don't mind, I have a job to do."   
"No!" cried out Ayame and grabbed Takeshi's arm where Nanako had been.   
"Ayame?" wondered Botan. 

"Are you quite ready to go now?" asked Shigeru.   
Satoshi nodded. "Let's go." 

They stepped back into the road that led to Kasumi's castle. Shigeru stepped onto the bridge, yet he suddenly felt an absence next to him and Ibui flattened its ears, looking back.   
"Satoshi, are you with me?" he asked and looked behind.   
Satoshi had that concentrated look on his face and his ears were perked up. He was listening to something.   
"What is it? Do you hear somebody?" asked Shigeru and he walked back to Satoshi.   
"I hear some screaming. I think it's Nanako and Taichi, and... and some other people. I can't tell," Satoshi turned completely around, and took a step forward, "but something's going on. I can hear water splashing..."   
"So Nanako and Taichi are having a water party. That's so much like them," commented Shigeru and shrugged.   
"Pi," said Pikachu. "Pikapi!"   
"Nn?" said Satoshi. "What?"   
Satoshi listened to its ramblings closely. He twitched his ears a little.   
"What is it?" repeated Shigeru.   
"Pikachu hears water and a strong wind blowing south. I think we should go," said Satoshi, and started running back towards the Hanada Springs.   
"What?!" cried out Shigeru. "Right now?" He watched Satoshi disappear into the forest. Shigeru threw his arms in surrender, sighed, and ran after him. 

Satoshi burst into the clearing at the lake, with Shigeru following after. "What's going on here?!"   
They had gotten just in time to find Botan slip down against the rock she was leaning on, and into the water, leaving a trail of blood behind. Everybody turned around for a moment, looking at the two.   
"Who are you two?" asked Kenji.   
"Well, I'm going to just have to kill everybody now. Acquaintances aren't allowed, as some of you know," said Takeshi. "I'd feel sorry for all of you, but under the order of Kasumi..."   
"Kasumi?" repeated Satoshi and Shigeru.   
"...I just can't do that." Takeshi lifted up his leg, and brought it down hard, making a loud rumble and an earthquake started underneath everybody.   
Taichi flew up before he could fall over, and lunged at Takeshi.   
"So you're an earth nymph?" he asked.   
"Wrong, boy," retorted Takeshi and grinned, showing a fang. "I'm a sprite."   
"Either way, you won't survive me! Don't you know? Both plants and the soil can be easily shredded by the harsh wind!" shouted Taichi and darted at Takeshi.   
He lifted up his arm and swung his hand at Taichi, knocking him away effortlessly. The young boy fell to the ground and his ibui rushed over to him, licking his face for comfort.   
"I'm not that kind of earth, boy," snorted Takeshi.   
Satoshi didn't wait for everybody else to get up. He jumped up and decided to try and fight Takeshi next.   
"Let's see you eat electricity!" shouted Satoshi. He ran at Takeshi, throwing sparks at him, yet every little drop was just absorbed into Takeshi's hand.   
"Sorry, but nice try, squirt," he said and smiled, showing his fangs again. "You're a nymph aren't you?"   
"Y-yes..." said Satoshi and his eyes started to fill with hints of fear.   
"So I don't have to do much to beat you up!" said Takeshi and lunged his leg at Satoshi.   
The young nymph was thrown back after a distinct cracking sound as Takeshi's foot hit his stomach, and he hit a rock. Satoshi slid down a little, and stopped at the edge, unconscious. Shigeru felt he needed to rush to his side, but decided it was more important he defeat Takeshi first. He sank into the ground, and made his way under Takeshi's feet.   
_I don't know who you are,_ said Shigeru from underneath Takeshi, _But from what I've seen, I don't think you're on my list!_   
Shigeru charged up from underground, and Takeshi fell to the grass hard.   
"You're not that tough," hissed Shigeru.   
But wasn't earth supposed to be weak against itself? How could such a simple move make the man fall over like that?   
"You aren't earth at all, are you?" said Nanako as she stood up. "You're some kind of a new species."   
"That's right. You better figure out what it is real soon, though," he said and came towards her.   
Everybody could feel the tension in the air and they thought hard as to just what Takeshi was. Strong against wind and electricity but weak against earth... but nobody knew about what else he was... except Kenji.   
"Metal!" shouted Kenji. "Takeshi has the element of metal!"   
"What?" wondered Nanako.   
"Shut up!" shouted Takeshi.   
"Metal?" repeated Nanako.   
She looked up and narrowed her eyes at Takeshi as if she had realized something. She raised her hand and a blaze of fire shot out at him. He became engulfed in the huge burst of fire, setting his whole body on flames. He yelled and shouted, flailing his arms around like a madman, and he backed up finally, towards the lake and fell in backwards. The fire gradually burned out as the water seeped around the body, leaving but an ugly heap of burnt cloth and flesh. 

* 

"Excuse me, Onee-san?" said Shigeru.   
Nanami looked down at him, slightly teary-eyed. "Yes?"   
"Can I please see Satoshi for a while?"   
"Of course," she replied. Shigeru walked inside the door of the health clinic. She knew the two were in love, and it hurt her sometimes that Satoshi went to her as well. But she sighed and walked away to her next patient.   
Shigeru sat down in a chair next to Satoshi's bed. He looked at Satoshi take his breaths, watching his chest and stomach go up down slowly. His mouth was gawked open a little.   
His pikachu was laid on his chest, only half awake. He wished this could have been a monster battle rather than man. Then it would be much easier. But it must have been Kasumi's fault, right? She was the one who started the crime wave, didn't she? And it wasn't like the Roketto Dan's poaching.   
The door opened and a tall woman with light brown hair walked in. She was wearing a simple yellow dress, but it was still so elegant, and she wore five bright jewels on her forehead.   
Shigeru recognized her. It was unmistakable.   
"Aren't you Hanako? The monarch of electric nymphs?" asked Shigeru. He felt so dirty compared to her.   
She nodded and smiled a little, but when she looked at Satoshi, she immediately frowned.   
"Kapika," squealed Pikachu and it jumped into her lap when she sat down on the other side of the bed.   
"Hello there," she said to it and stroked its back a little.   
Why was the monarch of electric nymphs sitting down in a room with this unconscious boy? But she'd have to know him. Pikachu seemed so friendly with her.   
"Umm... why are you exactly here?" asked Shigeru.   
Hanako looked at Shigeru for a moment, then Satoshi. "Because I heard that my dear son was injured in a fight. I immediately came here to see him."   
"You're son?" repeated Shigeru, stunned.   
"Yes. This is my son, Satoshi," she said and placed her hand on his forehead. "He'll be alright though... I'm sure. He always got into trouble like this when he was a little boy. He'd always try stunts and get hurt."   
"I had no idea that he was the prince of electric nymphs," said Shigeru. Satoshi always dressed in such rugged clothes, how could it be that he just decided to live like a simple boy?   
"Excuse me?" said Hanako with a confused, but stern look, "how do you know my son?"   
Shigeru bolted his head up. "I.. well, I'm... you see I'm sort of his.. um.. mate," he managed to say.   
"I see. So you're a friend of his?"   
"Well, more like.. um... I don't know how to put this..." he said and looked down at Satoshi.   
"You're... you're his partner in something?" she asked.   
"No. I'm actually.. well, I'm his lover," he said finally.   
Hanako stared at Shigeru and Satoshi for a moment, her face briefly reading "_This_ scruffy boy has been kissing and sleeping with my son?"   
"Oh, how... interesting," she said and gave a cheesy smile. "My he has a lovely choice in..." she tilted her head to the side and noticed his short ears, "...earth nymphs."   
"Actually, I'm a sprite," he murmured and looked to the side a little.   
"I see..."   
"This worries you," said Shigeru, as if it were a query.   
Hanako sighed. "A little."   
"Is it because I'm a guy?" he asked.   
She could see his fang clearly when he talked now.   
"No. It's more of the fact that you're an earth-element sprite," she said and her ears flattened back a little.   
"Crossbreeds?" said Shigeru in hopes of pinpointing her distress.   
"Yes..."   
"Then you don't have to worry if I'm a guy," he said and smiled.   
He stood up and ran his fingers along Satoshi's face. "My name is Okido Shigeru. I have to go now," he said as he headed towards the door, "And let me say your son is very..." he searched for the right word. "... very beautiful. Your son is very handsome and beautiful."   
He opened the door and left, leaving Hanako in the room with Satoshi.   
"Beautiful..." repeated Hanako. Why did it seem to sound so right, though?   
She looked at the door, where Shigeru had been standing. This certain "Okido Shigeru" was a sprite... yet, he still seemed quite gentle with Satoshi. Hanako smiled.   
"Yes," she said and looked back at Satoshi, "you do have a lovely choice in earth sprites." 

* 

The moon began to rise behind the castle. Kasumi sank down in her throne in depression.   
"Takeshi... you fool," she mumbled. "How could you? I thought you would last much longer."   
"And his name is said to mean 'unbreakable,'" said a female voice, very similar to Kasumi's.   
Kasumi looked up and sat straight in her throne as she saw... herself? It looked as if a duplicate of herself appeared in front of her. But something was different about her. She had thicker eyebrows and her eyes... her eyes were red. Yet she had a togechiiku just like Kasumi.   
"Imite," said Kasumi. "Get out of that silly disguise immediately."   
"Yes, ma'am," said Imite. She threw a puff of smoke in front of her and quickly changed back into her usual outfit. She didn't wear the draping clothes that all the others did. Her belly was open and her arms were bare. She had a belt, which held an apricorn.   
"Come back, Metamon," ordered Imite. The togechiiku made a quick formation into its pink little slimy form and was drained into the apricorn ball.   
"That Takeshi," said Imite "Sometimes you can't rely on him. But don't worry," she bowed in front of Kasumi, "I can handle your tasks without trouble."   
"Good," said Kasumi. "Because the last thing I need is trouble with these two certain individuals."   
Kasumi held out her bare hand and showed Imite a picture of Satoshi and Shigeru. "Kill them right away!" ordered Kasumi.   
"It will be done, ma'am," said Imite and bowed once again. She made a quick flip in the air, and threw another puff of smoke, disappearing. But her voice could still be heard, echoing out through the room. 

__

But first, I want to play with them a little. 

-To be Continued


	3. Evil vs Evil: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

It was late at night, and Imite peered through the window Satoshi slept in.   
"Awe," she cooed, "Just like a little baby."   
Imite jumped in through the window and walked over to the edge of his bed.   
"Wake up, sleepy-head. Takeshi couldn't have knocked you out for this long," she whispered and nudged Satoshi.   
He turned to his side and snorted a little bit before opening up his eyes wearily. He squinted his eyes a little, and lit his hand up with a few sparks so he could see.   
"Ooh, so you're an electric nymph?" said Imite. "How interesting. Very interesting."   
"Wha-what? Who are you?" he asked and Imite shoved her hand over his mouth.   
"Shhh," she hissed, "Be quiet. You're coming with me, Sato-chan."   
She picked up Satoshi along with his sleeping pikachu, and managed to get out of the window, where she had broken in. She ran out into the thickened forest, not bothering to use the road. She ended next to a large tree and dumped him on the ground, but still head his pikachu, so as not to wake it up.   
"Alright, Sato-chan," she said and sat down in front of him. "Now you can talk."   
"What?" he said, "but who are you?"   
"I'll have to keep that a secret for now," she said and winked at him. "But right now, I need you to say something loud and clear, okay?"   
"But why? What do you want from me?"   
"Good, that was pretty clear," she said, not bothering to answer his question. "You're a good sport, Sato-chan."   
"Why do you keep calling me that? You don't even know me!" he yelled.   
"And that was pretty loud. Well, then, I'll just put the two together," Imite said and sat up straight.   
"What? What are you talking about?! Are you insane?!" Satoshi began to get a little worried.   
"Good job!" squealed Imite. "Now I can practice." She looked up for a moment, then closed her eyes. "H-hey..." she began, trying to imitate Satoshi's voice, "Hey...Hey, my name is- my..." she started to get closer and opened her eyes. After a few more seconds of trying to complete the sentence, she managed a "Hey, my name is Satoshi! Pleased to meet you." in Satoshi's voice.   
"You're some weird type of girl," he said. "Do you think it's actually funny to do that in front of somebody? That's pretty offending, you, know!"   
It was about now that Pikachu started to wake up. Imite looked down at it and took out a small bottle that contained a white, creamy liquid. She poured it down the rodent's mouth and it started to close its eyes again, falling asleep quickly.   
"Hey! What are you doing to Pikachu?! What is that?! Poison, I'll bet!" shouted Satoshi. Imite shook her head and made the boy swallow what was left of it.   
"Poison..." repeated Imite, switching to her own voice. "It's warm milk and honey. And it'll help you calm down as well. Now then..." she looked up at him and suddenly took off his hat. "...strip."   
"What?!" he cried out and backed against the tree trunk.   
"Strip," she repeated.   
Satoshi blushed wildly, but tried to keep serious. "No way! I'm not going to agree with your weird sexual preferences to nymphs!"   
Imite sighed. Oh, this always happened... "Look, are you going to take off your clothes or do I have to for you?"   
Satoshi turned his head away and crossed his arms. Imite sighed once again and reached out at the hem of Satoshi's shirt. He slapped her with electricity, making her wince back.   
"You just have to do this the hard way," she said and took the apricorn on her belt and threw it on the ground. Her metamon sprouted out of it, making its little call and smiled at Imite.   
"Alright, Metamon," she ordered, "we need to get this electric nymph pinned down. You know what to do."   
It nodded and changed its color and shape around a little until it morphed into a sandopan. It held sat down on top of Satoshi's legs, making him fall to the ground, and pinned down both of his arms.   
"No way, you're bringing your monster into this? You're not just weird, you're sick!" he shouted.   
Imite ignored him and started to roll up his shirt, until reaching the point in which her metamon had pinned down Satoshi's arms. It lifted one hand and she brought Satoshi's shirt over his hand and repeated the movement with Sandopan on his other arm so the shirt was completely off.   
"You know, you really should be proud you're eighteen like me," she said. "So now I don't have to stuff myself or wear stilts to get bigger or make Metamon do the whole job if you're shorter."   
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Since when do rapes involve stuffing and stilts?"   
"I'm not going to rape you," she said.   
"Then what are you trying to do to me?"   
"I don't need to answer that," Imite said and continued to undress him.   
Satoshi kept quiet for a few minutes, watching Imite's metamon cooperate with ease. It was as if it had been trained to do just this. The girl had a much more calm face than he'd have thought if she were to strip him of his clothes. She obviously was almost serious about the idea. However, her facial expression was so happy-go-lucky, it was as if it was all just fun and games to her. And it probably was, too.   
"You're wearing blue and white," he said, more softly than before. The milk was definitely calming him down now.   
Imite took off his shoes and looked down at Satoshi. "In a moment I won't," she said and started to take off her boots.   
"Are you... are you working for Kasumi?" he asked.   
Imite continued to undress. "Yes. I'm on a mission right now."   
"Kasumi sent you on a mission to take off our clothes? And I thought you were strange..."   
Imite couldn't help but laugh a little. "No. I may as well tell you. My name is Imite and I am one of Kasumi's employees. I have been ordered to kill two people."   
"Who?" he asked.   
Imite didn't reply. She took a rope that was dangled at her belt and let her metamon slash it in half. She went over to Satoshi and tied one end of the rope to his waist.   
"What are you doing?" he asked.   
"Tying you up," she replied and Metamon, still morphed as a Sandopan, pinned Satoshi up against the tree.   
"Are you sure you're not going to..."   
"I told you, Sato-chan, I'm not going to rape you," she said. It sounded as if she were trying to comfort him, even though she had just stripped him and now she's tying him to a tree?   
She tightened the rope a little, and tied it into a large, twisted knot. She grabbed the other half of the rope and tied the pikachu to the tree as well, this time without the help of Metamon. She went back to Satoshi's pile of clothes and put on his hat.   
"Metamon," she ordered, "go get the blanket from my pack. And my strapping as well."   
It squealed and ran over to the pack she had been carrying around her shoulder. She retrieved the large white blanket from her monster and went back over to Satoshi. She wrapped the blanket around him and winked. "Just to keep you warm while you have your temporary lack of clothes."   
She went back to his pile of clothes and started to wrap the strapping around her chest until her breasts were dimmed down enough to pass as a boy's. She slipped on his shirt and pants and put on a pair of fake nymph ears over her own. She took out a black wig, and put it over her turquoise ponytails. she fluffed it a little at the edges. At last, she put on his hat and smiled.   
Satoshi couldn't believe his eyes as he saw a duplicate of himself standing in front of him. So this is why she was taking his clothes? To pose as himself? She'll get all his friends to hate him, no doubt. Then again, she was supposed to kill two people, so now he'll be seen as a murderer?   
"Metamon!" called out Imite, "I'm going to need you now." She was using Satoshi's voice again.   
It nodded and automatically changed into a pikachu. It trotted over to Imite and she smiled at Satoshi with content in her successful imitation of Satoshi.   
"Maybe you weren't such a good sport at first," she said, "or at least as I thought you would be when stripping. This took longer than it should have, but I guess that's okay. I'll come back for you later, Sato-chan, and then I'll give you your clothes back."   
She turned around and started to walk back to the hospital area at the hut. '_I'll bring you your clothes back. But I'm afraid you won't live to enjoy them for very long._' 

* 

The sun was almost rising. Imite hurried back with her metamon and got into Satoshi's bed. She started to hear the doorknob turn and she shut her eyes quickly.   
"Satoshi? Satoshi, are you awake yet?" said a very soft, feminine voice.   
Nanami walked over to Imite and nudged her a little bit. Imite rolled over a little as Satoshi had did before when she was waking him up. She opened her eyes slowly, and squinted a little. She looked at Nanami.   
_'Okay, so this is the nurse. At least I don't have to act,'_ she thought, but her thoughts suddenly changed completely when the woman kissed her. '_Okay, so this is his girlfriend... Now I really need to think._'   
Nanami released the embrace and smiled at Imite. "How are you feeling, Satoshi?"   
"Just fine!" she said and smiled.   
"I was so worried about you!" Nanami said and hugged her tightly. "I almost cried just thinking of you breaking any bones or anything like that. But I'm glad you seem to be alright now."   
Imite smiled. Oh great... so how did was this boy supposed to act in front of her? Calm, excited, stupid...? She made a guess.   
"I'm really hungry," she said, "is there anything to eat around here?"   
Nanami giggled. "Well, at least the kick didn't mess with your head. I'll get you some breakfast."   
The woman left, closing the door softly behind her. '_Darn,_' thought Imite, _'I never caught her name.'_   
At least she pulled off as Satoshi in front of his girlfriend. That was pretty good. The door opened again and a boy her own age with brown hair walked in with an Ibui. He smiled and walked over to her. It was Shigeru, one of the people she was supposed to kill. But she couldn't right now. She needed to wait for just the right moment. But what was his connection with Satoshi? Hopefully he wasn't an enemy. He looked like an earth sprite.   
"How are you feeling, Satoshi?" he asked. Okay, he's not an enemy...   
"I'm okay," she replied with another smile.   
Shigeru kneeled down by the bed and kissed her. Imite's eyes widened and she started to panic in her head.   
_'Oh my god, no.... I can't believe Sato-chan's in this sort of mess.'_   
Shigeru sat down in the same seat he was in the other day and looked at Imite. "Satoshi, we need to talk."   
"What is it?" she asked.   
"Why haven't you told me the truth?" he asked.   
What? The truth? Oh great, more trouble...   
"The truth?" asked Imite, "The truth about what?"   
"I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, Satoshi. Your mother came in here yesterday and talked to me," he said.   
"My mother?" repeated Imite. She had to get more information out of this guy.   
"Yes. Satoshi, why, in all of our years, have you never told me you were the prince of electric nymphs?" he asked.   
Imite gawked. Holy shit, no. Was this kid she was posing as really the second monarch of electric nymphs?   
'_Improvise, Imite... you MUST improvise!!!_' she thought quickly. "Well, you see... the thing is, I just didn't want to get you all, umm, surprised or anything if you knew I was an electric nymph..." she ended, but then corrected herself, "...prince! Electric nymph prince!"   
Shigeru gave her an awkward look of suspicion, but then smiled. "I see," He said. "It's okay then. But Satoshi, if anything comes up, you need to tell me right away. I understand you just wanted me to make me feel more secure around you, but this is really important."   
"Right," said Imite and gave him a cheesy smile. "I'll remember that...Shigeru."   
Shigeru stood up and gave Satoshi a smaller kiss, on the cheek, and headed towards the door. He opened it, but bumped into Nanami, who almost spilt the bowl of chopped fruit she was carrying.   
"I'm sorry, Nanami," said Shigeru, and left.   
Good. Her name was Nanami...   
"Satoshi?" she said.   
"Huh?" said Imite and looked up at her.   
She set the bowl in Imite's lap and sat down where Shigeru was.   
"I overheard you and my brother talking," she said.   
'_Oh no! But what if Satoshi was cheating on her, rather than cheating on Shigeru? That means the secret's out and **I'm** in the middle of it!_' she screamed in her head.   
"I think maybe Shigeru's right," she said. "That you should always tell him the truth."   
She wasn't mad. That was good. Imite sighed in relief.   
"I think you should tell Shigeru you've been spending some time with me. Besides, I feel a little guilty right now," Nanami looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry, but I really don't want to be a part of this. It's not fair to Shigeru, and it's not fair to me."   
Imite regretted the fact that this woman was pouring all her heart into a speech that wasn't even to the right person. How was she supposed to reply to this? Oh, how come this had to end up all wrong? And she was supposed to be having fun with this. Maybe she should go ahead and just kill Shigeru and Satoshi after this situation.   
"I see," said Imite, "I guess... I guess if you don't want to, then you don't really have to."   
Nanami hugged her, just as tightly as before. "I know you've made a good decision, Satoshi. For both of us. But I'll still love you."   
Imite was about to say something, but Nanami got up and left before she had a chance to even move. When the door closed, Imite sank down, deep in the covers of the bed.   
"I did _not_ expect this to happen to me..." she said. Her metamon trotted up to her face and licked her chin a little bit in comfort.   
"Chuu..." it said in depression.   
"We'll get out of this soon, though, Metamon," she said and started to eat one of the peaches in her breakfast bowl. 

* 

Imite walked out of the door. Maybe the confusion would die down outside.   
"Satoshi! Satoshi!" cried out two voices.   
"Nn? Who's there?" she asked and looked around.   
Taichi and Nanako ran out to her. They were obviously part of the main Yosei Kokoro group.   
"Satoshi, how are you feeling?" asked Taichi.   
"Just fine," she said.   
"Everybody got really worried when you were knocked out. Especially Shigeru," said Nanako. "But you don't have to worry. Takeshi won't bother you anymore."   
"We were a little more surprised when we found out Nanako was a fire nymph," said Taichi.   
"Really?" said Imite. "I... umm, I had no idea."   
"But you know what was really weird?" asked Taichi.   
"What?"   
"As it turns out," said Nanako, "the blue-haired water sprite is named Ayame and is one of Kasumi's sisters and she had fallen under the same spell cast by an electric sprite. And the guy she was with is named Kenji."   
"Kenji?" repeated Imite. How was Kenji in that mess?   
"He was one of Kasumi's minions, but now he's really on nobody's side," continued Nanako.   
"Well, except Ayame's," added Taichi.   
'_WHAT?! Are they making this stuff up?!_' wondered Imite. '_No way! This is too confusing for me!_' Imite took a step back. "Umm, will you two excuse me for a moment?"   
Nanako and Taichi shrugged as Imite ran off into the road that led north of the forest.   
"He shouldn't go there," said Nanako. "Don't a lot of sprites live north of the forest?"   
"I thought it was just full of wind nymphs," said Taichi.   
They looked at each other and nodded. "Wind sprites," they said in unison. 

* 

Imite leaned against a tree trunk. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and sighed. Her metamon went back to its normal form and sat down on her lap.   
"Maybe I should plan this a little before going back," she said.   
"Hey! Hey, who are you?!" shouted a voice. Somehow, it sounded very familiar.   
Imite looked up and turned to wear the voice was coming from. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw a boy with light brown hair with a dead odishishi hauled over his shoulder. His mouth was gawked open a little from dehydration and she could see fang sticking out.   
"Who are you?" he asked.   
"Tooru?" said Imite.   
"How do you know my name?" he asked, surprised.   
Imite ripped off Satoshi's hat and her wig, revealing her turquoise ponytails. "Tooru, it's me! Imite!"   
"Imite?" he repeated and smiled. 

"I know your style of murder," said Tooru and he laid down on a tree branch. "You find the victim's acquaintance and play dress-up, right?"   
"Not this time," said Imite, leaning against a root that stuck up from the ground. "Actually... I have to kill two people. I'm disguised as one of them."   
"Couldn't you have picked the girl, then? Seriously, Imite..."   
"There is no female," she interrupted and paused fore a moment. "Tooru?"   
"What is it?" he replied and flew down to her.   
"The mission I'm on right now has gotten off a little more harder than I thought it would..." she said and looked up at him with tearful eyes.   
He didn't know how to reply. His mouth twitched a little, in hopes that something would come out of his mouth to comfort her. But he wasn't given a chance to say anything. Imite already continued to speak.   
"The person I am disguised as... his name is Satoshi and he's the prince of electric nymphs..."   
"You're kidding, right? Are you sure this isn't just another guy named Satoshi?" asked Tooru.   
One tear slowly fell down Imite's cheek. "Yes... I'm guessing he had decided to live here with his lover, the other boy I'm supposed to kill. But he also loves a girl, and I have to sort everything out and all because I made this terrible mistake of choosing this idiot as the one to impersonate!" she cried out and grabbed Tooru's belt. "I can't just solve this boy's problems with his love affairs! It's been all too confusing for me, and I don't know what to do, or how to react!"   
Now he really didn't know how to react. Should he just talk to her? Will that help? Should he, perhaps, pat her back and say "you can make it!" or try to help her get out of the situation?   
"Tooru?" she said.   
"Yes, Imite?"   
"H-hold me until I think of a way out of this..." she said. Tears were streaming from her eyes steadily.   
Tooru wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. He hugged her tightly, despite the dampness growing on his chest. 

* 

"Satoshi, where have you been?" asked Hanako to Imite as she came back from the road.   
She looked up at her. Holy shit, no. Was she actually talking to the monarch of electric nymphs? So Shigeru definitely wasn't lying.   
"I just wanted to stretch my legs," she replied.   
"I got so worried when I heard you were injured!" said Hanako and she hugged Imite. "My little Satoshi..." She let go and looked down at Imite. "And I just wanted to say that I'm glad you've found the right boy for yourself."   
"Umm... yeah! Shigeru! He's... umm... nice!" said Imite, stuttering to find the right words for somebody who she had just met for five minutes.   
"Well, I guess I'll go back now. I'm glad you're enjoying your new life down here," said Hanako. "I guess you'd have wanted to because your cousin will be taking over as ruler after I leave the castle," she said, trying to soften up the idea of her death.   
"Awe, you're not that old, Mom," said Imite, sweating a little. She never went in a situation when she was talking with her victim's mother.   
Hanako laughed. "I guess it's times like this when a mother has to realize her little boy's growing up. You've lost the word 'Mama.'"   
Imite almost slapped her own forehead in her mistake. She didn't know Satoshi called her "Mama." Oh boy....   
Shigeru walked over to her. He was dressed a little differently. He was wearing a long cape instead of the simple shirt and pants she had seen him in before. He also had a belt on that heald a sword and his Ibui stood on his shoulder with its chest puffed out, proud and ready. It looked like he was going to go into battle.   
"Satoshi, you look well enough, perhaps now would be a good idea for us to start walking south again to battle Kasumi," he said.   
"Huh?" said Imite. Fight Kasumi? So perhaps that's why she had been sent to kill this boy and Satoshi in the first place. "Oh, right! Yeah, let's go!"   
"We surely won't make it there until night falls, and knowing you, you'll get tired from the long walk. So, if you want, we can camp out nearby her castle and battle in the morning," he said.   
Imite decided that then would be the best time to kill Shigeru, when the were camped out. Then she could go back and kill Satoshi. She only regretted that it would be so time-consuming, and killings like this gave her little pay; especially if the victims were bums like this.   
"Alright," she said. 

The walk to Kasumi's castle was silent, and Imite preferred it that way so she didn't have to answer any questions or do anything that Satoshi would do.   
When they were in site of the castle, Shigeru asked if Imite wanted to camp out. The moon was three quarters full, leaving an odd round shape and a dull amount of light. At least it wasn't as bad as a crescent moon, or even a new moon. Yet it still wasn't bright enough for Imite to be able too tell weather she could kill Shigeru or not. However, she agreed to camp out, just for her chance to kill.   
Later, the fire was burned out and Shigeru and Imite slept huddled near each other for warmth during the night, and even their monsters were up close, snuggling in to share the warmth. 

As the sun rose, Imite found no-one but Metamon close at her side. Shigeru was slashing the air with his sword, practicing his moves, eager to fight.   
"Satoshi," he said.   
Imite looked up at him, and stood up, feeling quite refreshed from the good night's sleep. However her chest spoke differently as the strapping were still making her breasts ache. She was used to it, though, and it would be even worse if Shigeru knew she was a girl, rather than just another boy. But anyway, she can kill him now. A good knock out and choking would do the trick for this boy.   
Shigeru continued to talk, "I think perhaps we should just practice a little before we battle Kasumi. You know, just to get a little warmed up."   
Even better. Now she could kill him in the practice, and it may even seem to be like a mistake.   
"Okay, sure!" said Imite and she ran up to Shigeru.   
"But it shouldn't elemental. We don't know what Kasumi's castle is like, and for all we know it could just be dripping with water. Your electricity would shock us and my ground moves would melt. The only thing left would be my plant and leaf skills, but that would have to be from a distance. So, in cases like that, we should be able to fight manually and with weaponry."   
"Then we can start with manual fighting," suggested Imite. Shigeru nodded and dropped his sword on the ground.   
Shigeru decided he would go easy on the Satoshi look-alike. He knew Satoshi was just a bit of a gentle creature, and now that he knew he was a direct monarch of electric nymphs, he knew that he was not trained as a fighter when a child.   
Yet when he expected Imite to get into a pathetic excuse for a battle stance, he was surprised. Imite stood perfectly with her back straight and knees bent. She chose to move first.   
Imite started with a leap forward and she threw a punch at Shigeru, who just barely dodged it.   
'_He's quick,_' thought Shigeru, and tried to kick at Imite, yet she jumped in the air. '_Perhaps he's better than I thought. Satoshi definitely has the skill to win._' Shigeru studied Imite for a moment as she got back into her battle stance gracefully. '_I never noticed how flexible and well built his body was. He has the strength of a man, and the lightness of a woman. He's almost perfect_.'   
Imite swung her leg around at Shigeru, catching him at the side, and he flew into a nearby bush. She didn't even waste time to let him stand up. She wanted to kill him, and beating him up a little first was just fine. She kicked him again, now swinging him up to the ground and he tried to keep his feet firmly placed on the ground.   
Shigeru decided not to go easy on her now. She was obviously being serious. But why was his dear Satoshi trying so hard in a practice?   
Shigeru made a round-house kick as Imite was trying to get behind him. Shigeru expected at the most that she would try to back away in hopes of dodging it, but again he was surprised as she let her hand out and caught his foot in mid-air. She flipped Shigeru over her head and he landed on his back. A puff of air was released from his lungs in pain.   
It was now that Ibui started to feel a little protective of its owner, and ran towards Imite and Shigeru in assistance. Yet Metamon grabbed its tail, holding it back.   
"Pika!" said Metamon and Ibui stared at it in confusion.   
"Iiiiuuuu," it hissed and clawed at the pikachu morph, but it quickly shocked it with a juuman boruto, almost paralyzing it.   
"Satoshi, I think you're being-" started Shigeru, but he was interrupted by a voice from "Satoshi" that he never would have expected.   
"Sorry, Shigeru," Imite said, now in her normal voice, "but I'm not your beloved Sato-chan."   
Imite locked Shigeru down, sitting on his stomach to keep him from moving, while her metamon kept Ibui from protecting its master. Imite removed her wig and hat, dropping them to the grass, just to show Shigeru what she looked like, truly. Shigeru's eyes widened as he gazed upon her wild hair that let loose in two ponytails. That's when he also noticed that her eyes were red, unlike Satoshi's warm brown eyes. But wasn't her eyes filled with warmth when he looked into them? Or was she just acting?   
"Who are you?" asked Shigeru.   
"My name is Imite and I work for Kasumi," she said to him, "and I am currently on a mission. A mission to destroy **you**!" Her eyes looked serious and determined to take away his life, but there was something greater than that. It was the warmth in her eyes, but only from the burning heat of hell's confusion and hatred embedded in her past situations with Satoshi's love affairs. She almost looked like she was taking the murder personally.   
Imite placed her hands firmly on Shigeru's neck, strangling him with all her might. It hurt him greatly as her fingernails dug into his flesh, and fresh blood started to leak a little, staining her fingers. He wasn't just going to get strangled and suffocated, he was going to get his head decapitated.   
But suddenly, Imite was knocked off of Shigeru by an unknown force. She fell off, and looked up to see Satoshi crouched down in front of Shigeru with her blanket wrapped around his bare body. She heard her metamon squeal and a blast of electricity. Her monster ran over to her, crawling up against her ankle in its old pink form.   
"You!" Imite shouted. "How did you escape?!"   
Satoshi looked down at the girl in hatred. 

She will pay for this. 


	4. Evil vs Evil: Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"It was that rat of yours, wasn't it?" said Imite, looking at Satoshi's pikachu. "It's happened before. No matter. I'll kill you both right here and now!"   
Satoshi growled lightly and shot out a bold of electricity from his hands and arms, hitting Imite as she got up. She fell back a little, feeling burnt around her waist. She stood up again, though, and punched at Satoshi's face, just barely missing.   
"You were trying to kill Shigeru," said Satoshi and shot out another bolt of electricity. "That's why you wanted to disguise as me!"   
"Has it finally gotten into your head, Sato-chan?" asked Imite, dodging the electricity. "I told you I had a mission to kill two people. I didn't answer when you asked who. Can you be any more ignorant?!"   
Shigeru started to get up, ignoring the pain in his neck. He pulled out his sword, attempting to cut off a limb or two from Imite. Yet her reflexes were too good, and she jumped back with a summersault.   
"Oh, so you want to do this two against one?" said Imite. "Well, then, I'll just have to even the odds, then!" She turned to her metamon, "Metamon! Pin down that electric nymph!"   
Her metamon nodded in reply and morphed into a sandopan once again, and pushed down Satoshi, pinning him down to the ground like before. He tried to send sparks out at the monster, but it's ground-type element only drained the electricity. So that was why it changed into sandopan...   
Meanwhile, Imite took a swing of her leg at Shigeru, and ended up knocking his sword away.   
"You're nothing without that sword, Shigeru," said Imite with a sneer. "I think you know how bad you are at manual fighting."   
"We'll just see about THAT!" he cried out and leaped towards Imite.   
Shigeru pushed her down and a deep rush of pain hit Imite as Shigeru's hands pressed against her still-aching chest. She screamed in pain.   
"I see I've found a weak spot," said Shigeru. "Aren't I lucky Satoshi wasn't wearing any armor?"   
"...You... you bastard," stuttered Imite, her voice starting to crack as Shigeru pushed down on her harder.   
"Enough!" shouted a voice.   
Shigeru and Satoshi looked up, seeing a wind sprite hovering above them.   
"What the..." started Shigeru.   
The wind sprite dived down at Shigeru, knocking him off of Imite like Satoshi had before. Imite sat up immediately and wrapped her arms over her chest. She let out a groan in pain, making her Metamon turn its head towards her, not minding Shigeru's Ibui trying its best to bite through the hard shell of the sandopan morph or the pikachu sitting on top of its head, trying its best to shock it.   
"Tooru," said Imite softly and smiled a little, yet he kept his eyes on Shigeru.   
"Keep away from her," hissed Tooru and he stood in front of her protectively.   
"Who are you?" asked Shigeru.   
"My name is Tooru," he replied flatly and quickly.   
"Well, Tooru, my name is Shigeru, and this is a personal fight, and I don't care what part you have in this, you better step away," snarled Shigeru.   
"Don't you dare," he said only above a whisper, yet as a warning and fierce as deadly as an aabo's rattle.   
Satoshi still struggled to be pried loose from Metamon. Its claws were planted firmly on his arms, though. Ibui tugged at its arm wildly, growling and shouting in hope it would let go of the boy. Finally, it raised its claw to push away the little brown monster. Satoshi immediately punched at Metamon with his free arm, making it wince back in confusion.   
Satoshi ran out to Imite and Tooru, desperately trying to take out one of the two. He let out a burst of electricity, yet Tooru rolled out of the way, grabbing Imite with him, and it was only drained into the ground.   
"Tooru, let me fight," said Imite. "I can defend _myself_."   
Her eyes were soft; and her crimson pigments glowed with love, but they still held her determination to kill. Tooru saw this and got off of her, letting her be free to stand up and face one of them. She turned to Shigeru, while Tooru turned to Satoshi, and the two stood back to back.   
"I think we have a distinct fighting advantage," said Shigeru.   
"You're no match for me, wind sprite," said Satoshi to Tooru.   
"On the contrary," said Imite and sneered.   
Tooru and Imite turned around, switching sides.   
"I can still defeat you," snarled Shigeru.   
Tooru flew into the air and chuckled a little. "Really? Oh, and what's this?" Tooru looked behind Shigeru, and in only a blur, Tooru swiftly swung himself by Shigeru and picked up his sword. "You know that old saying in Europe?"   
"Live by the sword, die by the sword," continued Imite, unleashing the two large knives Satoshi kept at his belt, and for once she was glad she was still wearing his clothes. She swung them gracefully at Satoshi and he tensed up in fright, seeing the poetic justice that would fall upon him. "By the way; I intend on taking that blanket from you after you die. I think you and your love affairs have caused enough trouble for me, so your public humiliation of dying naked should make me feel better. Bai-bai, Sato-chan." 

* 

Kasumi sipped the red wine. She kept her head against the back of her throne, keeping a shadow in her eyes, making her subtle beauty stand out as if it were pressed and dried petals. The color was a dull scarlet, but it was still so beautiful, like wrinkled silk.   
She set the glass down. It seemed to calm her to drink wine in the late afternoon. It wasn't the alcohol. It was the color. The color of the sky matched it as the sun was beginning to set.   
She needed to calm down everyday, weather it was watching the sunset or quietly spending time with Hiroshi. When she was only a nine or ten, she experienced the amount of stress only adults got. And it still remained inside of her. She had to release it somehow. Death, love, silence, freedom... and she was being granted all four. Her legs let her travel beyond the Hanada Springs, she fell in love dear Hiroshi, she had the joy of relaxing almost everyday... but most of all... most of all.....   
"Satoshi and Shigeru have been successfully killed, ma'am."   
She looked in front of her, seeing Imite, now wearing her regular uniform again. The girl was bowed down before her, but her head was kept up, looking straight into Kasumi's eyes. She was rude like that, but her good work paid it off.   
"It took you quite a while," said Kasumi. "Almost two days."   
"I'm very sorry, ma'am. I was temporarily slowed dow-"   
"Don't tell me what happened! I already know," interrupted Kasumi, so fiercely her togechiiku flapped its wings a little.   
Imite could feel her cheeks feel hot and red and lowered her head so it couldn't be seen. She hated that. Kasumi knew everything that her employees did. She watched them on their every mission somehow...   
"However, you have accomplished your task without serious trouble for me," continued Kasumi, settling down. "and there will be no punishment for your slacking. You may go now."   
Imite nodded, her face still blushing red. She took one of her smoke balls and threw it in front of her, disappearing as it faded into the air. 

* 

"Taichi?" asked Seiyou.   
Taichi turned his head to her. "Yes?"   
"Have you... have you heard from Shigeru lately?" she asked, a worried tone in her voice.   
"Shigeru? Umm... well no, not really. The last time I saw him was a little after Satoshi ran off into the northern forests. He told me and Nanako that he was going to fight Kasumi."   
Seiyou pressed her lips together tightly. "Just as he has promised me," she said.   
"Excuse me?" asked Taichi.   
"Nothing," she snapped and turned around with her back facing him. "Please, leave."   
Taichi didn't bother to nod at her tone of voice. He left the hut. Seiyou sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs.   
"Kasumi is too dangerous... I don't care if she sends out people to kill, she must have something up her sleeve. I can't just let Shigeru get killed like this," Seiyou stood up and picked up her bow and arrows. "Damn it, I love him, and if anything happens to him... I... I...."   
"Miss Seiyou?" asked Nanami as she walked into the room. Seiyou abruptly stood up straight.   
"What is it, Nanami?"   
"Have you seen Satoshi anywhere?" she asked.   
Seiyou shook her head. "No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"   
"I just haven't seen him around, and I'm getting a little worried," replied Nanami.   
Seiyou narrowed her eyes. "Why would you be worried about Satoshi? You barely know him."   
Nanami's pupils thinned for a moment, its slits becoming thinner than a nyasuu's. "Well... umm, he still needs a checkup incase any of his digestive organs have developed a bruise of some sort."   
Nanami started to walk back to the small hospital clinic, but Seiyou stood up and stopped her. "Wait, Nanami."   
"Yes, Miss Seiyou?"   
"Can you please do me a favor?"   
She nodded and waited for a reply.   
"I need you to recruit Taichi and Nanako, immediately," she said firmly.   
"Yes, right away," said Nanami and she walked out of the hut. 

* 

The three stood on the top of the castle. They could see almost the whole entire forest stretched out in front of them. Endless trees surrounded the castle and there was but a few hundred feet of grass in the clearing. The moon was full now and it shined brightly in the clear night sky. The stars were twinkling brightly, as there was no cloud visible. However, such a beautiful night will have to stand a death.   
Seiyou peered through the opening with Nanako and Taichi. They could see the whole entire main room. Kasumi's curved and detailed throne was at one end, attached to the wall instead of the separate piece of furniture Nanako and thought it was. There were two tiny fountains on either side, dripping water from two small holes in the water, and they ended in a small cup that stuck out. The floor was tiled with blue and white and there were large marble columns that reached up to the high ceiling.   
There they saw Kasumi, sitting silently and alone with her togechiiku.   
"Shigeru's right," said Seiyou. "She doesn't seem that tough to me."   
Nanako glared at her. "Are you insane? You haven't seen what Kasumi can do..."   
"You have?!" Seiyou glared at her.   
"Ssshhh!" hissed Taichi.   
"Let's go," said Nanako. 

Kasumi sighed. She was starting to get a little tired. Perhaps it would be best if she were to go to bed now.   
Yet suddenly three bodies dropped from the ceiling above. She abruptly stood up at the rude entrance. Togechiiku flapped its wings a little, but settled back down, sitting silently on her shoulder. She couldn't quite make out who they were. She held out her bare hand and stilled a blue light, larger than the others. She lifted her hand as she walked up to the three, seeing their brown and ivory uniforms.   
"You're the top group of the Yosei Kokoro," she said. "A large band of officers controlling the forest. All nymphs and all considered to be the heroes little children look up to." Kasumi smiled and let the light drop to her hand and it shattered into nothingness.   
The three stood up immediately. They were surprised at Kasumi's image up close. Her dress was so long and beautiful with strips of pale blue ribbons trailing along on the floor. This one was much more full and lofty than the others. But still her right arm and hand was still left bare and sleeveless, showing her pale skin. Was something like this the cause of a huge crime wave? Perhaps Shigeru was correct. She didn't look that tough.   
But where was Shigeru? He would have been fighting her about now, especially if she were still alive.   
"Where's Shigeru?" asked Seiyou.   
Nanako and Taichi gave a brief expression of embarrassment. Shigeru seemed to be the only thing on her mind.   
Kasumi laughed a little. "Do you really want to know what happened to the scruffy little earth sprite and his friend?"   
Seiyou sucked in her breath and worry washed over her. "Y-yes," she stuttered out.   
"They're dead."   
The two words hit her like a boulder. So simple, and yet it was so effecting to her. Seiyou's throat tightened and she gulped, trying to soften it up. She felt her eyes start to ache as she tried not to let herself cry.   
"Well," said Kasumi and she stepped back a little, turning her back towards them. But she tilted her head so that one eye looked at them. "You killed Takeshi. He was my employee and he was my friend, and I just had to get back at you."   
"That sounds like a very sweet thing to say, Kasumi, but we've come here to hunt you down," Seiyou said, ignoring the shiver in Kasumi's voice. She reached back, pulling an arrow with her right hand.   
"Really," she said, and there seemed to be both apathy and playfulness in her voice. She pushed down her sleeve a little bit. "And I'm guessing you want to prove a point that good will always conquer evil?"   
"Well, I..." started Seiyou, but she trailed off in both disturbance and a silent surprise as Kasumi started to undress herself.   
Yet, what was underneath, was what looked like a battle uniform. She wore a belt with a whip and eight apricorns were lined up on the opposing side. She walked up one stair to her throne, and stood in front of it. "But we won't battle with elements," she said and put on a second glove over her right hand. "No, I'm not in the mood. We'll battle pokemon style."   
"You can't be serious..." said Nanako.   
"But I am," said Kasumi, and held her whip.   
She cracked it once, and instantly, two platforms raised under her and the group. A few bunches of white tiles raised as well while water streamed onto the floor, creating a whole entire water arena.   
"Now then," she said. "I trust you all train monsters. Your party will use three, and so will I. Those are the rules."   
"I'll go first!" announced Taichi, and stood in front of Nanako and Seiyou, eager to fight.   
"As you wish," replied Kasumi and smiled. She took out one apricorn that had been turned into a blue monster ball. "Gorudakku."   
She threw it into the water, and a bright light shined under the water. Foamy bubbles started to rise and the ball shot up into Kasumi's hand, along with a Gorudakku that sprouted up and onto one of the raised tiles.   
Taichi kept a firmed and determined face. "Ibui!" He threw out a monster ball onto one of the tiles and his Ibui came out. "Ibui, kamitsuku!"   
"Iiuuu!" it squealed and charged at the goruduck, leaping to the next bunch of tiles. It lunged towards the monster's arm and bit it fiercly, digging its teeth into the slimy blue flesh.   
"Guruuu," growled Goruduck and it swung its arm to the side, making the small furry creature to fall into the water.   
"Gorudakku," said Kasumi. Her voice was calm, and so was her pokemon. "use kanashibari."   
"Goru!" it said with a quick nod and dived into the water with ease.   
There was a glow of red light for a moment, and a few bubbles popped up to the surface. The gorudakku jumped up onto one of the tiles. The jewel on its forhead glowed red and it kept its hands on its head in focus. The ibui was brought up from the water in a stilled position, except for the expression on its face as it struggled to move.   
"Nenriki," ordered Kasumi.   
Gorudakku tossed its head to the right, moving Ibui along with it until it was hit against the side of the platform the Yosei Kokoro stood upon.   
"Ibui!" Taichi shouted in shock.   
The small animal slid down against the white surface and into the water. It breathed faintly, but still didn't move. Taichi got out his monster ball and opened it, letting his monster back in to rest.   
"I'm hoping that's not your only pokemon," said Kasumi, leaning over the railing.   
"No," said Nanako, "I'm going next!"   
Kasumi returned Gorudakku to its monster ball and threw another one, and a Rapurasu was released into the water.   
"Mmmmm," it growled.   
"Pijotto!" shouted Nanako and she threw a white apricorn ball into the air.   
The pijotto soared in a circle like a vulture, over Rapurasu.   
"Rapurasu, reitou biimu," said Kasumi.   
"Mmmm...." it said and reared its head back.   
It let out a beam of ice aimed out at the bird.   
"Quick, oumu ga eshi!" ordered Nanako and pointed at Rapurasu.   
Pijotto eyed at the giant turtle monster as it shot out the ice. It flapped its wings furiously, creating a strong wind that blew across the arena, lifting up Kasumi's short red hair. She squinted her eyes and her ears tilted up like a butterfly folding torn wings, as the webs on the inside began to waver and whip against its rough edges.   
Pijotto gave one last beat on its wings and the beam of ice started to curve up and around, back at Rapurasu.   
"Soak it in," said Kasumi, now yelling as the wind blew hard against her.   
The rapurasu faced the ice and held its head high, almost in pride and a glint in its eye let everybody know that there was no way a returning attack would be the end of the battle. It opened its mouth, and the beam was shot back into its original place.   
It took a while for the shards of ice to finally make its way into the mouth of the turtle pokemon, but it kept its mouth open, and let the ice be drained into its throat. As the last wisp of mist and ice disappeared and the wind died down, leaving a bitter silence except for the sound of water gently hitting against the raised bunch of tiles. Rapurasu bit down once and then finally closed its mouth, and faced back at Pijotto.   
"Fuki tobashi!" ordered Nanako.   
The large bird cooed and beat its wings again. There was a blast of warm wind that blew against Kasumi, while a blast of cold air hit the Yosei Kokoro. The two winds started to circle around in front of Pijotto until finally the warm air formed a whirlwind, and the cold wind blew in the center and a whirlwind broke out. The pijotto continued to flap its wings, sending the wind at the rapurasu.   
Caught in the wind, the rapurasu was forced into the side of the whirlwind, and was flung back to the side of the marble wall.   
"Rapurasu!" shouted Kasumi. "juuman boruto!"   
"Juumon boruto?" repeated Seiyou, "How does a Rapurasu know an electric-element attack?"   
Rapurasu opened its mouth, and rather than water and ice, a ball of electricity started cackling and sparking. It moved its head forward, and spit out the lighting, making it bolt through the air and it hit the panicking pijotto on the side, electrocuting it. It was held in the air for a moment and lights flashed throughout the room. Some sparks were let down onto the water below, making it flash even more brightly. Finally it dimmed down, and the pijotto began to fall down.   
"Pijotto!" screamed Nanako and returned the bird before it hit the water.   
Kasumi returned Rapurasu as well and waited for the next monster from the Yosei Kokoro to be sent out.   
"You," she said, looking at Seiyou, "Are you going to battle now? I suppose you might actually be a challenge to me."   
Seiyou grinned and stepped up, but Nanako pushed her out of the way.   
"No, Miss Seiyou," said Nanako, "You only have rock and ground types. I have a leaf-element chikoriita that might be able to beat her with its advantage."   
She threw out her next monster ball and her chikoriita jumped onto one of the raised tiles.   
"Chikooo!" it said and bent its legs in a battle stance.   
"Gyaradosu," said Kasumi, no longer shouting. She threw the monster ball into the water. There was a flash of light and it returned to her hand. Everybody kept silent as hundreds of bubbles rose to the surface and popped. Finally, after a moment, the large dragon uprooted, slowly, at first, until all twenty-five feet of it was in the air, and it moved about while roaring, circling the frightened chikoriita.   
"Hey, give us a chance!" shouted Seiyou. "How dare you send out a huge thing like that against a little chikoriita!"   
"Give you a _chance_?" repeated Kasumi. "Do you really want me to give you an actual _chance_ at beating me? My, don't you sound very lowly and confused."   
"You wanted a monster battle and a challenge, so at least give a challenge to some other pokemon," said Taichi. "You're just being mean to us!"   
Kasumi closed her eyes and cocked her head to the right a little. She was acting like a school bully. She couldn't turn into that. "Fine then," she said and returned her gyaradosu. "Togechiiku, you can fight."   
"Toge!" it said and flew out into the water arena.   
"Togechiiku, use yubi wo furu," ordered Kasumi.   
"Chiiiiiku!" it squealed and closed its eyes.   
It swayed back and forth in the air smoothly in front of the chikoriita. It started to become dizzy, watching the flying creature go back and forth, beating a chant each time it turned. Finally, it suddenly stopped, hovering in the air and opened its eyes with a fierce, yet almost mystical look on its face.   
Togee..." it said softly and its body started to shine brightly. It's transparent wings shone with a bright yellow and its skin turned to a light red shade with orange triangles.   
"It used tekusuchaa ni. That means it's switched to the element that fights well against yours," said Seiyou to Nanako. "Good luck on this."   
Nanako started to sweat. What would happen if she loses this battle? Would they get killed just like Shigeru? Kasumi didn't show any mercy in this battle, and now that their only "chance" of surviving was over, she would take all the advantages she could. Time started to slow down, as well as Nanako's thoughts, and she glared at Kasumi with determination. 

She has to win, no matter what.

*

Just one more chapter to go! Feel proud of yourself, but also become confused by wondering weather or not Nanako will defeat Kasumi. That way it'll make me feel very powerful. ^_^


	5. Evil vs Evil: Chapter Five

Evil vs Evil: Chapter 5

Evil vs Evil: Chapter 5

"Kasumi? Kasumi?"   
Step. Step. Step.   
"Kasumi? Kasumi?! Where are you?!"   
Step, step, step, step... 

**

Chikoriita, tsuru no muchi!"   
"Togechiiku, sutemi takkuru."   
Two vines were released from the chikoriita, and they lashed furiously at the togechiiku as it flew forwards with an arch. Togechiiku bashed its head onto the small leaf monster, but was charged back in the air with a backfire as the vines started to burn on its fiery body.   
"Chikoriita, quick, happa katta!" shouted Nanako.   
It immediately brought back its burnt vines and started to throw its head forwards in a circular motion, shooting out numerous leaves on each turn. Yet the fairy-like monster stayed still, letting each leaf burn and disintegrate.   
Why was this battle going so quickly? Nanako bit her lip in worry.   
"Come on, Nanako," said Taichi, "you can do this! You can beat Kasumi! You really can!"   
Nanako shook her head. "No, I can't... I can't..."   
"Yes you can!" shouted Taichi. "You can beat her!"   
"No, I...."   
"You have to!" said Seiyou and more of the leaves started to turn to ashes. "For all we know our very lives depend on it!"   
Nanako made a small growl under her breath, and shot her head up. "Chikoriita, giga dorein!"   
"Chiko!" it replied. It lowered its head and closed its eyes, and it started looking for its energy target.   
"Sora wo tobu," said Kasumi.   
Togechiiku flew up to the ceiling, and started to prepare for an aerial attack. Chikoriita finally aimed straight forward at the main energy source, and a small ball of energy started to surround its target. It surrounded Kasumi.   
"Ah... wha-?" Kasumi stuttered and she took a step back and her site was suddenly tinted with green as the ball of energy started to become brighter.   
Kasumi squirmed around in pain, shutting her eyes closed as she felt a sharp pain all around her body, and she started to feel weak. 

**

"Where could she be?"   
Hiroshi turned his head around a little. He opened one door that led to their bedroom, but she wasn't there. Hiroshi backed away a little, and he suddenly heard a scream.   
"Nn? Kasumi!" he shot his head up and started running towards the heart of the castle that held both Kasumi's meeting places, and the battle arena. 

Togechiiku dived down at the fully recharged Chikoriita, knocking it down on the small raised tiles. Kasumi fell on her knees, clenching her sides and shoulders in pain. The platforms suddenly started to lower down and the railings disappeared. The water was drained into the cracks in the tiles as the green light slowly blinked away from her.   
"We have you now, Kasumi!" shouted Seiyou, and she ran towards her with Nanako and Taichi running after. She reached behind her and took out one of her arrows with one hand, and positioned her bow with her other.   
Hiroshi burst in through the doors at the side, and Seiyou let down her arrow.   
"Kasumi!" he shouted, his light blue cape whipping in back of him like the wind.   
Two tears streamed down Kasumi's face and she began to fall over on her side. Hiroshi rushed over to her, and caught her in his arms. He held her close to his chest, and she hugged back tightly. Hiroshi quietly shushed Kasumi in comfort.   
"Hiro...Hiroshi," she mumbled.   
"Out of the way, sprite!" shouted Seiyou and she aimed her arrow once again.   
Hiroshi turned his head around, gently setting down Kasumi. He stood up, facing the Yosei Kokoro. His eyes started to water and he spread his arms out wide.   
"I-if you're going to kill Kasumi, then I guess I'll have to join her," he announced with determined eyes. "Try if you must, but you'll never get passed me."   
Seiyou lowered her arrow again. '_I can't do that... it's against our regulations. If we didn't record any crimes by him, I can't do anything about it._' Seiyou looked down at him and moistened her lips a little. '_He probably has killed before... maybe he was the one who sent the minions out. But we still haven't sighted him, nor has anybody mentioned working for an electric sprite._'   
"Miss Seiyou? Are you sure we should...?" started Nanako, but trailed off when Seiyou ignored her.   
'_But isn't he... isn't he that that electric sprite that gave Kasumi legs? It has to be! He's been missing for over three years, and here he is in love with the very girl he had cast a spell on?_'   
"Miss Seiyou?" repeated Nanako.   
"You," said Seiyou to Hiroshi. "You're really the one who started all of this, didn't you? You're the one who gave Kasumi power, so it's your fault she even started a crime wave! You have caused a felony!"   
Seiyou raised her arrow once again, pulled back, and aimed at Hiroshi. She let go of the string, and the arrow was shot forward. Though Hiroshi stood still, except for his arm, and he caught the arrow in front of him. He dropped it on the floor, keeping his stilled determined face.   
"Leon," he said and threw a monster ball out. A pikachu jumped out. "Kaminari."   
Hiroshi quickly picked up Kasumi, who had already fallen asleep from her lack of energy. He ran out the room, leaving his pikachu to attack. Hiroshi quickly set Kasumi down in their bed and left her Togechiiku to care for her during his absence. Hiroshi rushed back inside the main room, finding Nanako and Taichi burnt out and fainted on the floor. He returned Leon to his monster ball and set it away in his pocket. Seiyou was left standing with her Karakara in front of her with its bone club raised over its head, draining in what was left of the bolt. It had absorbed every bit of electricity in front and around Seiyou to protect her. She returned it into a black monster ball.   
Hiroshi narrowed his eyes and held out his arms, throwing out sparks of electricity at her, but each one was drained into her.   
"I'm an earth-element nymph, you idiot!" she spat at him.   
"You can't blame a guy for trying," he retorted. He lashed his arm around across him, releasing two bright lights shaped as lightning bolts at her.   
They bounced off her arm, but she winced a little and pivited back.   
"I still have some tricks for you," he said as he leaped behind her and swung his leg under her, making her fall to the floor on her side.   
"What kind of trick was that?"   
"One that worked."   
Seiyou didn't have any time to stand up. She raised her arms so her palms were facing him and let out two vines from her hands that wrapped around his neck. He burst out with a bolt of lightning that surprised her with intense heat and she immediately let go.   
Seiyou slid her leg across the floor, knocking him over and she stood up, reversing sides. "Well, here's my little magic trick..."   
Nanako and Taichi started to struggle a little and their eyes slowly cracked open. Their vision was blurred and doubled at first, but it cleared and they could see Seiyou posed to the side, her bow and arrow directed at Hiroshi.   
"No!" cried out Taichi and he forced to get up.   
"He doesn't deserve that!" yelled Nanako, and she propped herself up on her elbow.   
Seiyou brought back her arrow, just a little and Hiroshi kept still, his face still serious. His breathing was hard, and he glanced down at the floor for a second, then to Nanako and Taichi, who took one step forward before he returned his glare back to Seiyou.   
She released her grip on the bow, and the arrow was shot at Hiroshi.   
There was a split second of nothing but the sound of quick footsteps and the spatter of blood against the smooth tiled floor. They heard a small moan escape and Nanako rushed over.   
"Taichi!" she screamed, her voice cracking in horror.   
Seiyou dropped her bow and gawked. What had she done? She killed her own employee?   
"I..I..." she stuttered. "I didn't mean...."   
Tears flowed steadily from Nanako's eyes, and she lifted Taichi in her arms.   
"He saved Hiroshi just in time. But... but nobody deserved to die," said Nanako shakily. "Not even Kasumi... and he saw that."   
Wet, salty tears dropped onto Taichi's uniform, slowly soaking into the material. She let her head down, crying louder with her back hunched over. She held him closer, hugging him tightly. 

And for a second, the world seemed to stop turning. 

**

The end 

**

Yai! You reached the end! Now then, you can also find a comedy, modern, and science fiction version of this story at [http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/eve/][1] There are also several illustrations to go along with it, and other information about the fic.

   [1]: http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/eve/



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